Maharashtra
‘Pray For Long & Healthy Life,’ Says PM Modi As He Extends Wishes To NCP-SP Chief Sharad Pawar On His 84th Birthday
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended wishes to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on his 84th birthday and prayed for his long and healthy life.
“Birthday wishes to Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader Sharad Pawar Ji. I pray for his long and healthy life,” posted PM Modi on X.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Extends His Wishes
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha also wished NCP chief Sharad Pawar on X.
“Happy Birthday to Nationalist Congress (@NCPspeaks) Party President, Former Union Minister Sharad Pawar. Wish you good health and long life,” Kharge posted.
Meanwhile, posters, extending birthday greetings to NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar were put up outside his residence in Delhi.
Who Is Sharad Pawar?
Sharad Pawar, known to the masses as Saheb, was born on December 12, 1940. Hailing from a family in Baramati, Pune, Pawar started early in politics and became president of the State Youth Congress at 24 and a member of the State Cabinet 5 years later.
Pawar has been Chief Minister of Maharashtra for seven years out of his 32 years in politics. During these years, Maharashtra became and retained a position as the leading industrial state in the country and also a state with a very managed treasury.
Pawar has always stood for a society free of caste and communal biases. As Chief Minister he has consistently encouraged people of different communities, living in Maharashtra, to develop their special cultural and ethnic identity while contributing to the overall development of the state.
Pawar is an economic liberal and believes that only large-scale investment leading to rapid economic development and increased employment makes a country a real international power.
About The Split Of NCP
Last year in July, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in his party, joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance and took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
The NCP’s ‘clock’ symbol is with the Ajit Pawar group, following a ruling by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in February, recognising it as the official NCP. On March 19, the top court allowed the Ajit Pawar faction to use the ‘clock’ symbol, with certain conditions, including that his party would issue a public declaration that the use of the ‘clock’ symbol for Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra Assembly Elections is sub-judice and subject to the outcome of the challenge made by the Sharad Pawar group to the decision of the ECI.
It had also asked the Ajit Pawar faction to not use the name and images of Sharad Pawar in its campaign materials. Following a rift between the Sharad Pawar and the Ajit Pawar factions of the NCP, the Election Commission of India recognised the Ajit Pawar’s party as the real NCP based on its legislative majority and allotted the ‘clock’ symbol to it. The top court had asked the Sharad Pawar faction to use the ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Chandra Pawar’s name for upcoming elections and the “man-blowing turha” symbol.
Earlier, the apex court had directed that the Election Commission’s order of February 7 allotting ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ as the party name for the Sharad Pawar faction will continue till further orders.
Maharashtra
Mumbai Local Train Update: Mega, Jumbo Blocks Announced On Western & Transharbour Lines On March 15; Check Time & Route Here

Mumbai: Multiple railway blocks will be carried out across the Mumbai suburban network this weekend on Western Railway and Central Railway to facilitate operational and maintenance work, which will disrupt several suburban and long-distance train services.
Western Railway will undertake a jumbo block on the UP and DOWN fast lines between Borivali and Bhayandar and a major block on all lines at Prabhadevi station during the night of Sunday, March 15, 2026 to carry out operational work and de-launching of a girder of the Prabhadevi Road Over Bridge.
The block between Borivali and Bhayandar will be carried out from 12:15 am to 3:45 am, while the major block at Prabhadevi station will be undertaken from 1:30 am to 6:00 am.
During the Borivali–Bhayandar block, all fast line trains will run on the slow line between Virar/Vasai Road and Borivali.
Meanwhile, during the block at Prabhadevi station, some suburban services will be cancelled, short-terminated, or reversed from Dadar and Bandra.
In addition, no suburban train services will run between Churchgate and Prabhadevi, and trains will also remain unavailable at Matunga Road and Mahim stations during the block period.
Due to the block, several Mail and Express trains will be regulated or rescheduled between Surat and Virar.
Western Railway has clarified that no daytime block will be taken on the suburban section on Sunday, March 15.
Meanwhile, Central Railway has announced a mega block on the Transharbour line on Sunday between Thane and Vashi/Nerul for maintenance work of railway tracks and signals.
The block will remain in effect from 11:10 am to 4:10 pm, during which all up and down local train services between Thane and Vashi/Nerul and between Thane and Panvel will remain cancelled.
Crime
Navi Mumbai: Crime Branch Nab Trio In Swift ₹36 Lakh Jewelry Heist

Thane: Three persons have been arrested for allegedly breaking into a house and decamping with gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 36 lakh in Navi Mumbai, police said on Saturday.
The crime branch made the arrests on March 10 within 24 hours of the burglary that occurred at a residential building in the Kalamboli area, an official said.
According to the police, the accused broke into the flat on the evening of March 9 and stole gold and silver ornaments and cash worth about Rs 36 lakh.
A case of theft and break-in was registered, and following investigation, the crime branch zeroed in on the trio and apprehended them from Daighar village in Thane district, the official said.
The accused, Pawan Rohidas Jadhav (25), Sumit Rohidas Jadhav (22), and Shivaji Jagan Rathod (23), were caught with the stolen valuables, he said.
Crime
ED Arrests 2 In ₹300 Crore Digital Investment Scam; Duo Remanded To Custody

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested two persons for allegedly cheating investors in Gujarat and Maharashtra of around Rs 300 crore through digital investment schemes and laundering the proceeds. A court has remanded the accused Sudhir Kotadiya, 33, and his cousin, Umang Kotadiya, 27, from Amreli to ED custody till March 20.
The money laundering case was registered based on an FIR initially filed at the Vartak Nagar police station in Thane and later transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
Investigators allege the accused operated a large-scale digital investment scheme through several entities, including Qfonn App Limited, Qfon Connect India LLP, Qfon Entertainment Pvt Ltd, and Qfon Ajobman India LLP, among other related firms.
ED prosecutor Arvind Aghav, seeking their custody, told the court that the accused had been absconding, prompting authorities to issue a look-out circular.
He said the duo fled to Dubai and later re-entered India via Nepal to evade legal action before being traced and arrested in Gujarat.
According to investigators, the accused lured people to invest by promising monthly returns ranging from 2% to 10.5%, claiming the income would be generated through online advertisement viewing and app-based digital activities.
The probe found that funds from new investors were used to pay returns to earlier investors, while a significant portion was allegedly siphoned off.
One investor who had put in Rs 183 crore provided details of about 60 companies, entities and individuals whose bank accounts were allegedly used to collect nearly Rs 55 crore on the instructions of the accused.
The ED claims Sudhir Kotadiya was the mastermind behind the Qfonn app-based Ponzi scheme and held 25% shares in Qfonn App Limited, with another 25% held by his wife, Ranjanben Kotadiya, while the remaining shares were with other family members.
Umang Kotadiya allegedly handled operations, serving as director or partner in multiple Qfon group entities and acting as an authorised signatory for several bank accounts linked to the scheme.
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